What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof.

Christopher Hitchens (1949 - 2011) was an Anglo-American author and journalist. His books made him a prominent public intellectual and a staple of talk shows and lecture circuits. He was a columnist and literary critic at Vanity Fair, Slate, The Atlantic, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry and a variety of other media outlets. He was named one of the world's "Top 100 Public Intellectuals" by Foreign Policy and Britain's Prospect.

April 13 is Hitchens' birthday.Henceforth, for me, this will be 'Hitchens Day' and I shall make a toast (with J.W. Black of course) to a unique and intelligent man.The world is a less interesting place without him and he will be sorely missed.

Body donation makes absolute sense. Why waste a body in burial or cremation when it can be used to teach medical students or for scientific study for the benefit of others? Even in death we can do good.

Ah...thank you for posting this, Tom: the information I have been impatiently seeking in numerous news searches over the past week or so. How good of Hitch to ensure that more research on his type of cancer will proceed in the near future.

Travel on in Peace, Christopher! And to my fellow fans: Merry Hitchmas to all, and to all a good night!

Richard Dawkins honored Christopher Hitchens much better than I can. See: 2011 Dawkins Award - Christopher Hitchens. Christopher was a fighter for atheism and his voice will be missed (IMO his opinion about the war in Irak may be dismissed).

A bright mind, talented speaker, a humble searcher for morality. I and many, many others will miss him dearly. I can only hope that when my day comes, I remember at least a flicker of the flair with which he met and dealt with his ending, as an inspiration for pride and human dignity. Sleep well, mr Hitchens.

I am a better man because of my awaking to the truth that Christopher and his magnificent mind led me to.I now know the reason for the anger and frustration that I have carried with me in recent years.Christophers writings galvanised all the suspicions and doubts about religion and godworship that I have carried with me since I was a teen.Christophers passing , sad as it may be, has strengthened me in pursuing the right life ,the moral life, the life that we,humans, were always meant to live ... the life of a free thinker

Ah! yes! In the promise of everlasting life, Hitch, you seem to think that your putrid fleash, noe home to maggots id somehow going to be MORE USEFUL yhan it was when you were alive!!And, may I ask, to whom did you commend your spirit? Oh! I forgot! You never had one, except the 40 proof kind!

'Hitchens Day' on Apr. 13 should be just that --> 'Hitchens Day'. It should not be re-named or co-opted by special interests i.e. atheist groups etc. Hitchens was admired by many. All should be welcome to celebrate his life.

Your terribly naive attempt at associating peoples well wishing and mourning as worship, is all at once pathetic and reprehensible.Your characterizations of peoples desperation speaks volumes of your own.Mr. Hitchens was a rare card in an otherwise boring deck. Many admired his admiration for humanity most especially since he knew intimately that our time in the here and now can only be measured and valued in the here and now. He worked tirelessly to that end. And the best you can do is bring us your invective blathering? Try harder.

I spoke in London today to a famous writer friend of his, who said Hitch had asked the doctors to suspend treatment towards the end because he was in pain and believed in voluntary euthanasia, but they refused. Interesting, as I had not seen that reported.

In 'Trial of the Will' Hitchens says: I asked my physician to discontinue all life-supporting services or show me how to do it. The physician denied this plea, rather loftily assuring Hook that “someday I would appreciate the unwisdom of my request.”

How appropriate that the troll suggesting Hitch as an illiterate fag has remained anonymous. The predictability of the bottom layers of what pass for life are all at once boring and so easily stereotyped. Pathetic really. Hitch would take "fag" with a laugh and a wry smile but to call him illiterate? That must be either yours meds talking or you are indeed as irrelevant as you sound.

By far one of the greatest voices of reason and rationality mankind has ever realized. Seeing dogmatic theologin types squirming in their seats waiting to respond to his articulate and lucid thoughts have been highlights of my debating education!

You will find that eternal gratitude will only be in THIS life. I pity you. CH was a very clever man and a great wit, but to take on God, how presumptuous dare one get? His mortal life ended as did so many others who abused their bodies.

Just a couple points to consider in your efforts to immortalize this man.

First, he died from his life of excess. Oesophageal cancer was a direct result of his smoking and drinking. Not the most clever of moves for a man as "clever" as Mr Hitchens.

Second, his body would be of no use to medical science. If he didn't know that, shame on him. Medical science needs cadavers that die of natural causes. Basically healthy bodies that show normal anatomy. A body that is ravaged by cancer (and the treatment thereof) is of no use to medical science. There is nothing interesting about a death from cancer.

So take his writings for what they were: the thoughts of one man. If they resonate with you, that's great. But if you follow in his footsteps, beware that hard drinking and smoking is, for most people a long term sentence of death.